c/budget-buyers

Showerthought: That $20 thrift store rice cooker outlasted my $200 one

I bought a fancy Zojirushi 2 years ago and the inner coating started peeling after 6 months. Picked up a basic no-name rice cooker from Goodwill for 20 bucks last weekend just as a backup. Thing is built like a tank, works perfectly every time, and I swear the rice comes out just as good. Anyone else found a random thrift store appliance that blows the expensive stuff out of the water?

2 comments

miles279•3d ago

Found a way to stretch ground beef that actually works

I was making tacos for four people last week and only had a pound of ground beef. Instead of just cooking it plain, I tried grating a zucchini and a carrot into the pan while browning the meat. It added bulk without anyone noticing the taste difference. Ended up feeding everyone with leftovers for lunch the next day. Anyone else got tricks to make a little meat go further?

2 comments

mitchell.lee•4d ago

TIFU by trusting a cheap power strip in my home office

I was working from my living room in Phoenix last Wednesday when I smelled something burning. Looked down and saw my $7 power strip from the discount bin was actually melting at the plug. Yanked everything out fast before it caught fire. Turns out it was only rated for 600 watts and I had a monitor, desktop, and heater all running through it. Threw it in the trash and spent $25 on a proper surge protector the same day. Anybody else almost burn their place down trying to save a few bucks on electrical stuff?

2 comments

the_derek•5d ago

Showerthought: Remember when generic store brand stuff was always bad? Now it's sometimes better.

I used to swear off store brand ketchup after a bad experience in 2018 with a watery bottle from a discount grocery in Cleveland. But last month I grabbed the Aldi organic version on a whim and honestly it beat Heinz in a blind taste test my wife ran. Has anyone else noticed the quality gap closing on certain items or is it just me?

2 comments

the_hayden•5d ago

The day I realized my thrift store shopping method was totally backwards

I spent like 4 years walking into Goodwill and grabbing whatever looked okay, then taking it home and finding out it was stained or broken. Last month I found a vintage Pyrex dish for $4 at a shop in Denver, but I didn't check the inside lid - it had a huge crack. That made me start flipping every single item over and holding it up to the light before buying. Has anyone else had a similar wakeup call at a thrift store?

2 comments

the_oscar•5d ago

Groceries from the dollar section hit different when you break down the math

I grabbed a bag of frozen chicken breasts at the discount grocer for $6.50 last Tuesday. Usually I go to the regular supermarket and pay $10-$12 for the same thing. Dinner was fine, no weird texture or taste, just regular chicken. Have any of you found stuff at those random discount places that actually held up?

2 comments

stella_lane•7d ago

That week I bought 40 cans of beans on clearance was a disaster

Last month I found a whole shelf of marked down beans at the grocery store near my work. I grabbed 40 cans thinking I was a genius, but I did not check the dates. Turns out 25 of them expired in like 3 weeks. Now I am eating beans for every meal and my family is begging me to stop. Has anyone else snagged a clearance deal that backfired hard?

3 comments

nora_walker57•7d ago

Switched from bagged compost to bulk delivery saved me $40 a season

I used to buy those $5 bags of compost at the garden center for my raised beds. Last spring I found a local landscape supply that sells bulk compost for $30 a cubic yard delivered. One yard filled all three of my 4x8 beds with plenty left over. Has anyone tried bulk topsoil for mixing their own potting blend?

3 comments

the_emery•7d ago

Found out store brand spices are fresher than name brands

Was at Walmart last week comparing prices on cumin. Noticed the store brand had a bolder color and stronger smell. Looked at the packaging dates. Store brand was packed 2 months ago. Name brand was 11 months ago. Guess they sit on shelves longer because they cost more. Anybody else check dates on spices now?

3 comments

seth_harris36•7d ago

Found this trick for finding thrift store clothes that actually fit

I kept buying shirts at Goodwill that looked okay on the rack but fit weird at home. Then I started measuring the pit-to-pit width with my hand span before buying anything. Has anyone else tried measuring on the spot like that or do you just guess?

3 comments

mason.brian•7d ago

Pro tip: double check those thrift store electronics before you plug them in

I found a vintage stereo receiver at a Goodwill in Portland for $12 last Tuesday. Got it home, plugged it in, and heard a loud pop followed by a burning smell. Turns out the power supply caps were cracked and leaking. I opened it up and saw corrosion all over the board. I did manage to fix it with $8 in parts from a local electronics shop, but it took me three evenings to figure out what went wrong. My advice is to always test thrift store electronics with a cheap power strip that has a breaker first. Has anyone else had a find that looked great but ended up being a headache?

2 comments

the_holly•10d ago

Can we just appreciate finding a $5 thrift store cast iron skillet

I was browsing the Goodwill on Elm Street last Saturday and spotted a Lodge 10-inch skillet buried under some old Tupperware for $5. Got it home, scrubbed off a little surface rust, and now it's my go-to pan for eggs and hashbrowns. Anybody else score something cheap that ended up working better than the new stuff?

3 comments

jordan903•10d ago

Rant: Everyone raves about Dollar Store cleaning supplies but I just found out the hard way

Last month I scrubbed my kitchen counters with their spray and now the laminate has permanent white spots, so who here has actually tested this stuff on anything besides glass and metal?

3 comments

riley_miller25•11d ago

The moment I realized I was buying cheap drip coffee filters wrong

Used to grab whatever generic basket filters were on sale at the grocery store, like $2 for a pack of 200. They'd always tear or slow down my pour over, took me years to connect the dots. Switched to Melitta brand ones from a restaurant supply store last month, $4 for 100 but zero issues. The paper's thicker and actually fits my Chemex without folding sideways. Now I save money because I don't waste coffee grounds from a busted filter. Anyone else find that one thing you skimped on was actually costing you more in the long run?

2 comments

reese_nelson•13d ago

I finally bought the cheapest lawnmower at Menards last spring

Saw a gas mower for $89 and figured it would last one season tops. Took it home, and the thing started on the first pull every time for 8 straight months of cutting weeds and wet grass. Then last week I hit a hidden rock and the blade snapped clean off. Cost me $12 for a new blade online, and it's running like new again. Anyone else have a budget buy that just refused to die?

2 comments

jamesm38•13d ago

Had to pick between a $40 cooler and a $120 one for my beach trips this summer

I was at the Walmart in Myrtle Beach last week staring at two coolers. The cheap one was a Coleman that said it keeps ice for 1 day, and the expensive one was an Ozark Trail that claims 3 days. I went with the cheaper one because I'm on a tight budget, and honestly after 6 hours on the sand on Saturday all my drinks were still cold. Has anyone else had luck with the cheaper coolers for day trips?

3 comments

christopherwilson•13d ago

Finally realized I was overfilling my deep fryer this whole time

Honestly, I've been cooking at home for years and always filled my fryer to the max line. Then my buddy who works at a diner in Nashville saw me doing it and said I was wasting oil and making everything greasy. He showed me you only need about 2 inches of oil for most stuff like chicken or fries. Tried it last night and the food came out way crispier and I used half the oil. Has anyone else been doing it wrong the same way?

3 comments

jamiew53•14d ago

Rant: That $15 'budget' torque wrench from Harbor Freight cost me a water pump replacement

Found out after snapping a bolt on my own Accord last weekend that cheap torque wrenches can be off by 20% or more, something a Machine Shop Tools forum post broke down with actual calibration tests, has anyone else had a budget tool fail at the worst time?

3 comments

the_emery•16d ago

Family friend told me to buy the cheapest toilet paper to save money - 3 weeks later I regretted it

My uncle Bill, who's all about pinching pennies, swore by buying the $0.50 per roll store brand at Family Dollar. I followed his advice and stocked up, but after weeks of clogging my toilet in my apartment near downtown Dallas and needing a $120 plumber visit, I'm wondering if cheap is always worth it. Has anyone else had a money-saving tip backfire like this?

2 comments

john650•16d ago

Hot take: buying cheap tools is better than spending big upfront

I used to think you had to drop $300 on a single drill to get decent work done, you know, the whole buy it for life thing. Now I grab a $40 Ryobi from Home Depot and just replace it when it dies, which is about every 2 years for me. The math changes when you factor in how much gear I lose or break on job sites around Denver - why cry over a $300 tool when a $40 one does the same job? Am I wrong for thinking this way, or do you guys stick with the expensive stuff?

4 comments

hayes.joel•17d ago

Swore by name brand trash bags for years until a store brand held up better through a full week of kitchen scraps

My neighbor Janet lent me a box of Great Value 13 gallon bags after I ran out, and not a single one ripped even with coffee grounds and wet paper towels so has anyone else had a cheap product outlast the expensive version?

2 comments

the_derek•17d ago

Unpopular opinion: the premium bulk bins at my local co-op are actually worse for my wallet.

I weighed out a bag of oats from the fancy bulk section last week and it came to $4.80 a pound, while the store brand bag a few aisles over was $2.10 a pound for the exact same thing, so has anyone else noticed stores using the eco-friendly bulk setup to quietly jack up prices?

2 comments

garcia.tyler•17d ago

That one lady at the thrift store taught me about fabric quality

I was at a Goodwill in Portland last Saturday digging through a bin of old sheets when this older woman next to me just started talking. She picked up a floral print and said 'this is 100% cotton, see how the weave is tight and the tag says made in Portugal?' She told me she never buys anything without checking the fiber content first, no matter the price. I had been grabbing whatever looked cute for 3 years and now I check every tag every time. Has anyone else had a random stranger change their whole approach to buying secondhand?

4 comments

the_susan•17d ago

Thought I was saving money buying the cheap faucet cartridges, then my Saturday went up in smoke

After replacing the same cheap cartridge three times in six months at $8 each, I finally spent $35 on the brass one and it's been running smooth for over a year, so was I just being cheap or is there a real cutoff where spending more actually pays off?

3 comments

carter.gavin•17d ago

That week I found a $30 coupon hidden in a broken light fixture

Last spring I was cleaning out old stock at the hardware store and found a beat up box with a $30 manufacturer rebate taped inside the lid. It had expired two years ago but the company honored it anyway. Has anyone else scored a good deal from checking places nobody looks?

3 comments